Molding device

ABSTRACT

A device for expanding the cross section of thermoformable material at low pressures which comprises, A BASE PLATEN AND A TOP PLATEN WHOSE CONTACT SURFACES HAVE A FUSION POINT OF &gt; OR = 70*C. and are adapted to bond to thermoformable material by hot tack adhesion, and ONE OR BOTH OF SUCH PLATENS ARE ADAPTED TO VENT AIR THROUGH A PORTION THEREOF DURING THE EXPANDING OF THE THERMOFORMABLE MATERIAL BETWEEN THE PLATENS BY PULLING THE PLATENS APART WHILE THE THERMOFORMABLE MATERIAL IS BONDED THERETO BY HOT TACK ADHESION, MEANS TO HEAT THE PLATENS TO &gt; OR = 70*C., and MEANS TO PULL THE PLATENS APART WHILE THE THERMOFORMABLE MATERIAL IS BONDED THERETO.

United States Patent [191 Smarook 1 MOLDING DEVICE [75] Inventor: Walter H. Smarook, Somerville,

[73] Assignee: Union Carbide Corporation, New

' York, N.Y.

22 Filed: Dec. 29, 1971 211 Appl. No.: 213,276

[52] US. Cl 425/110, 264/164, 425/394, 425/472, 425/D1G. 53 [51] Int. Cl. B29c 27/14 [58] Field of Search 425/394, 396, 472, 425/D1G. 53, 110; 156/244; 264/164, 191

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,962,409 11/1960 Ludlow et a1 156/244 X 3,399,425 9/1968 Lemelson 425/379 X 2,502,304 3/1950 Baker 264/41 X 3,367,760 2/1968 Bendig et a1 264/291 X 2,736,926 3/1956 Johnson et a1 264/164 Primary Examiner-H. A. Kilby, Jr.

Attorney-Paul A. Rose et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A device for expanding the cross section of thermoformable material at low pressures which comprises,

a base platen and a top platen whose contact surfaces have a fusion point of 2 70C. and are adapted to bond to thermoformable material by hot tack adhesion, and one or both of such platens are adapted to vent air through a portion thereof during the expanding of the thermoformable material between the platens by pulling the platens apart while the thermoformable material is bonded thereto by hot tack adhesion, means to heat the platens to 2 70C., and means to pull the platens apart while the thermoformable material is bonded thereto.

20 Claims, 26 Drawing Figures PATENTEDUU 16 I975 sum 01 or 13 I G F INVEN'IOR. WALTER H.SMAROOK kLnL ATTORNEY PATENTEDUBT 1 I91 3.765810 sum 02 a? 13 FIG. 2 2

/b WI FIG. 3

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INVENTOR WALTERHSMAROOK sum 03 0f13 PATENTEDUCI \6 i873 ATTORNEY PATENTEDIJCT 16 I975 saw us or 13 H II /6/4 m 1 m l m l 1 F111;"?

1! llWLli mm mm 1 I [m 1 ILJ 1 l l "h l -l ll I Il'mll E HMIEMX m HMHEE FIG/O FIG.

INVENTOR. WALTER H.SMAROOK ATTORNEY sum 05 0F 13 Q i U1 FIG /3 FIG /4 WALT E fi JA R O PATENTEDncI 15 ms 9 l Ag 2 m w m PAIENIEnncI 16 1915 3.785810 sum 07 or 13 FIG/6 23 29A HIHI lllll f lily JHHIIII' INVENTOR. WALTE R H. SMAROOK ATTORNEY PATENTEDUCT 16 1915 sum as or 13 Fl6.2l

INVENTOR. WALTER H.SMAROOK ATTORNEY PATENTED UN 18 I973 sum 100F13 FIG. 22

INVEX TOR. WALTE R H. SMAROOK PATENTEDUCT 16 1975 saw 11 0F 13 A m u a w 4 w 4 q SHEET V 1a or 13 PATENTEBUCT 15 1915 1 x w w BY k/ 7 PATENTEUUDT 16 I975 saw 13 0F 13 59 INVENTOR.

WALTER H.$MAROOK ATTORNEY MOLDING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a device for shaping fused thermoplastic material.

2. Description of the Prior Art Most devices which are used for the shaping of fused thermoplastic materials require the use of high pressure for the shaping operation. Because of the need for such pressures, and the provision for molding cycles in such devices, the devices are highly complex pieces of machinery. Notwithstanding the complexity of such devices, they are ususally not able to provide, in a single molding step, shaped articles having expanded crosssections of complex geometries such as honey-comb type geometries.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A device is provided for shaping fused thermoplastic materials at low pressures so as to provide articles with expanded cross-sections having complex geometries. The devices comprises a pair of platens whose contact surfaces have a fusion point of 70C. and which are adapted to bond to thermoformable material by hot tack adhesion, and one or both of the platens are adapted to vent air therethrough during the expanding of the thermoformable material between the platens by pulling the platens apart while the thermoformable material is bonded thereto by hot tack adhesion. Means are also provided for heating the platens to 2 70C. and for pulling the platens apart while the thermoformable material is bonded thereto.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device for shaping thermoformable materials at low pressures and essentially in a single forming step. I

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for expanding the shape of thermoformable materials so as to provide shaped objects having complex cross-sectional geometries in a single forming operation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for expanding the cross-section of thermoformable materials without the use of blowing or foaming agents so as to provide shaped articles having a variety of expanded, lightweight, cross-sectional geometries.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for forming, from thermoformable materials, and in a single shaping step, expanded structures having perforations in the faces thereof, which perforations have undercut lip members around the periphery thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for expanding, in a single shaping step, the cross-section of thermoformable materials so as to provide such cross-section with a predetermined pattern of regularly shaped and spaced voids.

DEFINITIONS With respect to the herein provided description, examples and claims relating to the present invention the following definitions apply:

Thermoformable means that the thereby described material is a solid at 25C. which can be reshaped or reformed above some higher temperature.

Thermoplastic" means that the thereby described material is a solid at 25C. which will soften or flow to a measurable degree above some higher temperature.

Thermoset" means that the thereby described material is a solid at 25C. which will not soften or flow, or cannot be reformed, at any higher temperature.

Crystalline means that the thereby described polymeric material exhibits a definite X-ray pattern for at least 50 percent of its polymeric structure when subjected to X-ray analysis.

Amorphous" means that the thereby described polymeric material is devoid of a definite X-ray pattern for more than 50 percent of its polymeric structure when subjected to X-ray analysis.

Ta means the temperature at which a thermoplastic material exhibits hot tack adhesion.

Tm means, with respect to a crystalline polymer, the melting point of such polymer.

Tg" means, with respect to an amorphous polymer, the temperture at which such polymer changes from a brittle to a rubbery condition. In a crystalline polymer it is the temperature at which the polymer becomes glassy, or the crystallinity disappears.

Plastic" means a natural or synthetic resin.

Normally solid" means solid at 25C.

Wet or Wetting means the relative ability of one material to achieve interfacial contact with another material.

Hot tack adhesion means the ability of one mate'- rial to exhibit adhesion to a second material while the first material is in a molten state, above its Tm or T3.

Fusion point" means a temperature at which a material softens or melts.

Cohesive Flow Property" means the property of a material in the molten state to be so readily distorted by external forces that the geometric cross-sectional area of such material will change substantially under such forces.

Heat Distortion Point means the temperature of a material as measured by ASTM D-648. I

Most thermoformable materials have a Ta, i.e., a temperature at which they will exhibit hot tack adhesion to other materials. In the case of crystalline polymeric materials this Ta occurs about 5 to 10C. above the Tm of such polymeric materials.

In the case of amorphous materials the Ta varies considerably, depending on the structure and molecular weight of the material. For the amorphous polymers, therefore, the Ta may be about 30 to 150C. above the Tg of such polymers.

The Tm or Tg will also vary for a given polymeric backbone, depending on the molecular weight and density of the polymer.

The following is a listing of various polymeric materials which may be used in the present invention with a listing of their Tm or Tg, and their Ta, in C. The Ta values reported here were specifically determined with respect to the adhesion of the polymeric material to an aluminum substrate. Essentially the same Ta value will be obtained upon adhering the polymers to other substrates.

Polymer Tg Tm Ta 1. polyethylene I26 135-l40 Density=0.96

2. polyethylene 122 130-135 Density=0.94

3. polyethylene -108 I20 3 Density=0.924 M.I.=l.2 4. polyvinyl chloride 5 155 240 of polymethacrylonitrile 8t styrene S. Nylon-6 60 2l5-220 240 6. Nylon-6,6 65 260 270 7. Polycaprolactone 58 60 8. Polyurethane (polyester) 130-170 160-180 9. Polysulfone 185 300 I0. polypropylene 5 to 165-170 170 I 1. polycarbonate 1S0 225 I2. polymethylmethacrylate 90 160 13. polystyrene 100 185 14. polystyrene 100 180 (impact grade) 15. polyacetal 60 I65 I70 16. 90/ 10 mol copolymer 115 240 of polymethacrylonitrile & styrene 17. 70/30 mol copolymer 50-60 120-130 of polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinyl acetate 18. 94.2I5.7 mol copoly- 20 l 10 mer of ethylene and ethyl acrylate 19. 91.8182 mol at copolyl8 I10 mer of ethylene and acrylic acid 20. 82/18 wt copolymer 1 120 of ethylene and vinyl acetate M.l.=2.3 21. styrene-butadiene 90 190 copolymer 22. styrene-acrylonitrile 100 I90 copolymer 23. hydroxy propyl 100 110 cellulose 24. (solution blend of) 115-120 235 polystyrene and polyphenyleneoxide 25. cellulose acetate 170 180-190 26. acrylonitrile-butadiene- 100-104 180 styrene terpolymer 27. copolymer of ethylene 98 130 and Na salt of methacrylic acid V has now been found that the cross-section of a thermoformable material may be readily expanded so as to provide a large variety of end use objects having a wide selection of expanded cross-sectional geometries by expanding the cross-section of a blank of such thermoformable materials in a device having mold plates which are adapted to cause the concurrent formation of one or more voids of reduced pressure within the expanding cross-section of such blank, and having venting means adapted to vent the voids during the expansion of such cross-section so as to equilibrate the pressure within the voids with the pressure outside the blank and thereby regulate the uniformity and integrity of the resulting cross-sectional geometry of the expande'd blank. The expansion of the blank is conducted while the blank is heated so as to place the thermoformable material in a thermoformable state, i.e., the blank is heated to a temperature which is the fusion point of the thermoformable material. The thermoformable material is expanded and vented in the device of the present invention between a pair of separable, air permeable, mold plates, which mold plates are moved apart to effect the desired expansion and venting of the blank of thermoformable material, while the blank is attached to the surface of such mold plates, in one way or another as disclosed below, during the expansion operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a top view of a sheet of open mesh metal which may be used as a removable mold. plate in the device of the present invention.

FIGS. 2-4 shows a sequence of steps involved in increasing the cross-sectional area of a blank of thermoformable material according to one embodiment of the present invention using two sheets of metal mesh as shown in FIG. 1 as removable mold plates in the device ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an expanded structure made by the process disclosed in FIGS. 2-4.

FIG. 6 shows a second type of removable mold plate having a perforated face which may be used in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows an expanded structure made with one of the removable mold plates of FIG. 6 in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows an enlargement of the rib member of the expanded structure of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective viewof another type of mold plate which may be used in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a top view, and FIG. 1 I shows a crosssectional view of an expanded article made with the mold plate of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 shows a top view, and FIG. 13 shows a crosssectional view, of a perforated mold plate that may be used in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows two of the mold plates of FIGS. 12-13 in a non-aligned position for use in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows a top view, and FIG. 16 shows a crosssectional view of an expanded blank. made with the non-aligned mold plates of FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 shows a partial top view, FIG. 18 shows a partial view of the reverse side, and FIG. I9 shows a partial cross-sectional view of another perforated mold plate that may be used in the device of the present invnetion. invention.

FIG. 20 shows a top view, and FIG. 21 shows a crosssectional view of an expanded article made with two of a the mold plates of FIGS. 17-19.

FIG. 22 shows a top view of another type of perforated mold plate, which has a plurality of different sized and shaped perforations therein, that may be used in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 23 shows a top view of two of the mold plates of FIG. 22, positioned one above the other, with a nonalignment of their perforations.

FIG. 24 shows a top view, and FIG. 25 shows a bottom view, and FIG. 26 shows a partial cross-sectional view, of an expanded article made with two of the mold plates of FIGS. 22 and 23. i

The use of the device of the present invention is based upon the property of various materials, and particularly thermoplastic polymeric materials, to exhibit hot-tack adhesion to practically all substrates at a temthereby impart adhesion thereto. In some cases this adhesion phenomena will be lost when the thermoplastic polymeric material cools below its Tm or Tg.

Thus, if a blank of thermoplastic polymeric material is placed between two mold plates of a heated press so that the temperature of the mold plates is about 5 to 10C. above the Ta of the polymeric material in the blank, and the mold plates mechanically separated apart, the adhesive forces of the polymeric material to the surfaces of the mold plates are greater than the cohesive flow properties of the polymeric material itself during the plate separation or expansion step. As a result, it is possible to mechanically move the mold plates a certain distance apart with the polymeric material bonded to the surfaces thereof without causing a rupture of the adhesion between such surfaces and the fused material.

Although the mass of the expanded fusible material does not change, the cross-sectional configuration of the fusible material is expanded in the direction of the two separated plates as a result of the adhesive force of attraction between the fused thermoformable material and the surfaces of the plates. The extent to which the cross-sectional area of the fused material can be so expanded is thus primarily determined by the strength of the adhesive bond between the fused material and the surfaces of the mold plates, and the extensibility, in the molten state, of the thermoplastic resin in the blank. The stronger is such adhesive bond, the greater is the amount of cohesive flow that can be induced in the molten resin without a rupture of the adhesive bond occurring. The strength of the bond will thus depend on the nature of the thermoplastic resin in the blank, the nature of the mold plate materials, the extent of the surface area of the mold plate which is in contact with the fused blank and the cohesive strength and flow properties of the polymeric plastic.

Thus, the use as mold surfaces, of materials which are more readily wet by the fused plastic blank, will allow for a wider separation of the mold surfaces with the fused plastic bonded thereto, than would the use of mold surfaces made from materials which are not readily wet by the fused blank. Also, the use of the blank in the form of continuous sheet material will allow for the wetting with the blank of a larger amount of the surface area of the faces of the mold plates and thus allow for the attainment of greater adhesive forces between the fused blank and the mold plates.

As the mold plates are pulled apart with the heated thermoformable material bonded thereto, voidsof reduced pressure are formed within the body of the expanding plastic. Thus, although the mass of plastic does not change, the volume of the expanding cross-section of the plastic does increase. The frequency of the occurrence of these voids, as well as their size and shape, i.e., the pattern of the voids, is largely determined by the pattern of the points or areas of contact which exist between the mold surfaces and the expanding plastic during the expansion process. in order to maintain the desired pattern of the voids, it is necessary to vent the voids during the expansion step as as to equilibrate the pressure within the voids with the pressure without the expanding material.

The pattern of the points or areas of contact between the mold surfaces and the thermoplastic blank can be readily varied. For example, the contact surfaces of the mold plates and/or the blank can be provided with various designs of recessed or raised surfaces so that when the contact surfaces of the mold plates and the blank are brought face to face, only the raised surfaces of 'the mold plates and the blank will actually contact each other. Another procedure for providing a pattern of points of areas of contact would be to use mold plates and blanks whose contact surfaces are in the form of a mesh, lattice or net work type of configuration. Thus, only the strands of the mesh, lattice, or network are available for contact purposes. The open areas in the mesh, lattice or net-work configurations would not provide surface contact between the mold plates and the blanks. These various types of surface designs in the mold plates and/or the blanks 'could thus provide at least'some areas of contact between the surfaces of the mold plates and the surfaces of the blank. For example, where the blank is in the form of a sheet of material having smooth and flat contact surfaces, some areas of contact between the surfaces of the blank and the mold plates could be provided by using mold plates which have raised contact surfaces so designed as to provide only such raised surface area for contacting the surfaces of the blanks, or by using mold plates which have mesh shaped contact faces. Conversely, where the mold plates have flat smooth surfaces, the blank could be provided with the same selective type of raised or meshed surface areas which would provide the desired pattern of contact surface area.

The preferred means for providing the desired pattern of contact between the mold surfaces and the thermoplastic blank can be generally characterized as perforation means, and such perforation means are used to provide a pattern of individual and separate perforations at the interfaces between the top and bottom surfaces of the blank and the blank contact surfaces of the the two plates when the blank is inserted in the press between the two mold plates.

These perforations may be, at the plane of the interface between the mold plate and the blank, arcuate as in the shape of a circle or elipse, or angular, as in the shape of a triangle, rectangle, hexagon, or in the shape of a planar figure having both arcuate and angular sides, such as a hemisphere, or a section of a circle.

The perforations employed at each of the interfaces between the mold plates and the blank during the expansion of a blank are usually of the same size and shape, although they need not be. Different sized and- /or shaped perforations may be used at one or both of the two interfaces.

in a preferred mode of operating the device of the present invention the blank of thermoformable material which is to be expanded is inserted between a pair of mold plates, one of which is positioned above the blank, and which may be tenned the top or upper mold plate, and the other of which is positioned below the blank, and which may be termed the bottom or lower mold plate. in this embodiment the blank is expanded between the two mold plates in a vertical plane or direction. The blank, however, may also be expanded in a horizontal plane or direction by positioning the two mold plates at either side of the blank and otherwise conducting the process as in the manner of the vertical expansion process. in such a horizontal expansion process one of the mold plates could be characterized as the bottom mold plate, and the other the top mold plate.

The perforation means which is used at the interface between the top mold plate and the top surface of the blank may be termed the upper perforation means, and the perforation means which is used at the interface between the bottom mold plate and the bottom surface of the blank may be termed the lower perforation means. In a preferred embodiment of the device of the present invention the perforations in the upper perforation means are not aligned, in the vertical plane, with the perforations which are in the lower perforation means. That is, the perforations in the upper perforation means are either not of the same size of shape as the perforations in the lower perforation means, of if they are of the same size and shape, the pattern of the perforations in the upper mold plate is so positioned or arranged so that, in the vertical plane, there is, at most, only a partial alignment of any one perforation in the upper perforation means with any one perforation in the lower perforation means. The two perforation means can thus be so designed and positioned that there is no overlap at all, in the vertical plane, between any one perforation in the upper perforation means and any one perforation in the lower perforation means. In a preferred embodiment of the device of the present invention, however, the two perforation means are so designed and positioned that each perforation in each of the perforation means overlaps, in the vertical plane two or more perforations in the other perforation means.

in another preferred mode of operating the device of the present invention the pattern of the areas of contact between the surfaces of the blank and the surfaces of the mold plates is provided by using, as the bottom plate and the top plate, perforated plates as the perforation means. The perforated plates will only provide contact with the surfaces of the sheet facing such plates at the non-perforated area of such plates.

The desired pattern of contact areas can also be supplied to the contact surfaces of the two mold plates or the blank with other perforation means. Anegative of the desired pattern can be used as such other perforation means and it can be affixed to the contact surface of the sheet which is to contact the mold plates or affixed to the contact surface of the mold plates themselves. in the form of masking means, such as cut-outs in circular, elliptical, hexagonal, rectangular, triangular, etc., form of masking tape, kraft paper, Mylar film" or other materials which will prevent the fused thermoplastic material from adhering to the surface of the mold plates. Thus, the fused plastic will only be allowed to adhere to the surfaces of the mold plates at those areas of contact between the surfaces of the mold plates and the sheet where there is no masking means present.

These negatives thus function, when used as perforation means in the device of the present invention, in a manner of procedure which is directly opposite to that of the perforated mold plates, the use of which as perforation means is discussed above. These negative perforation means thus prevent contact at the interface between the surfaces of the blank and the contact surface of the two mold plates at those places at the interface where such "negative" perforation means are present. The use of the perforated mold plates, on the other hand, provides'a lack of contact at such interface where the blank contact surfaces of the mold plates are not present, i.e., at the areas of the interface adjacent the perforations in the mold plates. Each of these two types of perforation means, does, however, function in the same basic manner, that is, each provides a pattern of perforations in the interface between the contact surfaces of the mold plates and the surfaces of the blank.

Thus, it may be said that the cross-sectional geometry of the expanded blank is a function of the design of the areas of contact which is provided in the contact surfaces of the mold plates, or the surfaces of the negative perforation means, and which is to contact the blanks. It is such design which determines the extent to which the contact surface areas of the perforation means and the blank are kept in contact during the expansion step in the process of using the device of the present invention, and the extent of such contact areas is what determines the pattern of the voids or cells in the expanding blank or sheet, and thus, in the cross-sectional geometry of the resulting expanded blank.

The voids or cells created in the sheet during the expansion step are vented through one or both of the mold plates, or in the case of the use 'of a negative perforation means, the voids or cells are vented from the outside of the blank and between the negative and the mold plate. Venting of the negative perforation means may also be accomplished by providing a vent hole over the negative perforation means wich vent hold would be vented through the mold plate to the atmosphere.

The speed with which the mold plates are moved apart during the expansion of the blank is not critical. The speed to be used is governed by the cohesive flow properties of the thermoformable material used in the fused blank. Where the blank is used in the form of a sheet having thicknesses of the order of about 10 to 300 mils, such blanks may be expanded B 2 to 20 times such thicknesses according to the present invention by expanding the fused blank at a rate of separation of the mold plates of about 10 to mils per secend.

The amount of pressure used to pull the plates of the press apart in the process of the presentinvention is about 1 to 10 pounds per square inch of continuous surface area on the blank contact surface of the plates.

After a desired separating distance has been achieved, the expanded blank is cooled, to a temperature below the heat distortion point of the plastic, the press is opened and the expanded blank is removed therefrom. At this point the expanded blank may or may not continue to adhere to the surfaces of the mold plates, depending on the nature of the mold surfaces and the polymeric materials, as will be discussed below.

The expanded blank is cooled to a temperature below its heat distortion point, before being removed from the press so as to freeze, so to speak, the configuration of the expanded blank, and thus prevent distortion of such configuration.

Thus, a preferred device of the present invention for expanding the cross-section of a blank of thermoformable material therein comprises a pair of perforation means, wherein each of the perforation means provides perforations adjacent the interface of contact between the perforation means and the blank, and wherein the perforations in each perforation means are not aligned with the perforations in the other perforation means, and wherein venting means are provided to vent voids arising in the blank during the expansion thereof. The expansion of the blank in such device is also attended or accompanied by the formation of one or more voids of reduced pressure within the cross-section of the expanding blank, with the pattern of the occurrence of such voids being in response to the pattern of perforations in the perforation means,'and the voids are vented during the expanding of the blank through the venting means so as to equilibrate the pressure within the voids with the pressure without the blanks and thereby regulate the uniformity and integrity of the resulting crosssectional geometry of the expanded blank.

The preferred perforation means are perforated mold plates and the blank is usually adhesively bonded, and preferably by hot tack adhesion, to the non-perforated surfaces of such perforated mold plates during the expansion or pulling process.

In the preferred mode of operating the device of the present invention using two perforated mold plates the alignment of the perforations in the two mold plates is such that there results in there being, during the expansion process, an overlap by the perforations in each of the mold plates with respect to at least one, and usually two or more, of the perforations in the other mold plate. This overlap occurs in the vertical plane where the mold plates are used one over the other and they are expanded in a vertical direction; or in the horizontal plane where the mold plates are used on either side of the blank, and the mold plates are expanded in a horizontal direction. The venting of the voids is readily accomplished through the perforated mold plates.

The mold plates which are to be used may be disengageable from the device used to move them apart during the expansion step of the process described above. One or both of the mold plates can also be more permanently affixed to such device, in which case, the cooled, expanded thermoformable material is then removed from the device and the mold plate(s) affixed thereto.

When the expanded blank is cooled below its Ta, or even below its Tm and/or Tg, it will not necessarily, in all cases, automatically lose its adhesion to the surfaces of the mold plates. The expanded blanks which are made of materials which are non-polar in nature, such as the polyolefin resins, will generally readily lose their adhesion to the surfaces of all of the types of mold plates which may be used in the device of the present invention, and which are listed below in more detail. The expanded blanks which are made of polar materials, i.e., materials comprising compounds which possess an electric moment, such as polysulfone resins and resins containing carboxyl, hydroxyl and ester groups, will tend to remain bonded to the surfaces of most, if not all, of the mold plates which may be used. However, even where adhesion between the expanded blank and the mold plates is not automatically lost upon cooling the expanded blank, the cooled expanded blank, can, where desired, be mechanically stripped from the mold plates without disrupting the integrity or configurations of the expanded blank. The tendency of both the polar and non-polar types of materials, to com tinue to adhere to the mold plates after the expanded blank made therewith is cooled below its heat distortion point can be enhanced by using mold plates which have roughened contact surfaces. The rougher is such contact surface, the better will be the adhesive bond with the cooled plastic.

In addition to the use of hot tack adhesion, other means may be used for affixing the thermoformable material to the mold plates during the expansion of the cross-section of the thermoformable material. In one such other procedure the thermoformable material may be loaded with a filler which is susceptible to being magnetized such as, powdered iron and barium ferrite, and the thus filled thermoformable material may be affixed to the mold plates during the expansion step, in any desired pattern of points or areas of contact therebetween by applying a magnetic field to selected portions of the contact surfaces of the mold plates. The

thermoformable material may also be affixed to the surfaces of the mold plates during the expansion step by the application of electrostatic forces between the expanding thermoformable material and selected contact areas of the surfaces of the mold plates. Regardless of the means used to affix the thermoformable material to the mold plates during the expansion step, the thermoformable material must be heated to a fused or molten state during the expansion step.

A better understanding of the device of the present invention and its use can be obtained from the process sequence illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a type of mold plate 1 which may be used in the device of the present invention. Mold plate 1 is an expanded steel mesh with a diamond shaped metal pattern. The pattern of the steel mesh need not be diamond shaped, of course, it may have other open mesh configurations. It is the surfaces of metal mesh which provide the mold contact surfaces which will contact the blank of plastic.

FIGS. 2 to 4 show a sequence of steps involved in using mold plate 1 according to one modification of the device of the present invention. In FIG. 2 there is shown a blank 2 of thermoformable material having a Ta, in the form of a smooth surfaced sheet of such material, which is inserted between the open platens, 3a and 3b, of a Carver press. To the faces of each of platen 3a and 3b of the press there is attached a metal mesh mold plate. In the embodiment shown, the contact points or areas of the top mold plate la are not vertically aligned with the contact points or areas of the lower mold plate 1b. In other embodiments such. upper and lower contact points or areas can be vertically aligned. The mold plates 1 are heated, for the purposes of the present invention, to a temperature which is about 5 to 10C. above the Ta of the blank 2. The mold plates may be heated before, preferably, or after the blank is inserted in the press, and they are preferably heated conductively through platens 3a and 3b.

The Carver press described herein is a 20 ton hand operated hydraulic ram 3c which actuates a movable 6 X 6 inches lower platen 3b again a fixed upper platen 3a. In other devices or presses, the upper mold platen can be movable with the lower platen fixed, or both platens can be movable. The platens are usually heated electrically. Although the Carver press is the preferred means for bringing the heated mold plates into contact with the blanks, according to the present invention, other suitable platen moving means may be used, such as heated continuous belts.

The device of the present invention may be adapted to be used continuously or discontinuously. Usingplaten moving means such as the Carver press, a device may be adapted to be used discontinuously. A device may be adapted to be used continuously by using, as the mold plates, a pair of heated continuous converging belts of materials suitable as mold surfaces.

FIG. 3, shows the press after it has been closed with sufficient pressure to cause the top and bottom mold plates to exert a slight pressure on blank 2 so as to cause the heated blank to wet the surfaces of mold plates la and lb which come in contact with the blank. The amount of pressure required for this step is of the order of about 1 ounce to 4 pounds per square inch. The pressure causes the blank to be slightly compressed.

FIG. 4 shows the platens pulled apart after the expansion step, with the expanded blank 2' adhering to points or areas of contact with plates la and 1b.

During the expansion step, as will be discussed in more detail below, areas of reduced pressure or cells 4 arise within the cross-section of the expanding blank. The side walls of the individual cells 4 are defined by rib-members Z'a of the expanded blank. The limits of cells 4 are defined by the contact points or areas of plates 1a and lb and side walls Z'a. The reduced pres sure in cells 4 is caused by the fact that each cell 4 tends to become a sealed chamber when the blank 2 fuses to contact mold surfaces of plates la and lb and, as the mold surfaces are pulled apart, the sealed cells 4 become enlarged, thus creating areas of reduced pressure. To prevent the higher ambient pressures from distorting or rupturing expanded walls Z'a of the blank,

cells 4 of the blank are vented during the expansion step so as to equilibrate the pressure within such cells 4 with the ambient pressure outside the blank. This venting tends to preserve the pattern and the integrity of the resulting cross-sectional geometry of the expanded blank. in this embodiment of the present invention, the venting is accomplished through the open mesh configuration of the mold plates, which functions as a perforation means, and the imperfect seal that exists between the surfaces of platens 3a and 3b and mold plates la and lb.

After the platens have been expanded the desired distance they are cooled with cooling means to a temperature which is below the heat distortion point of the plastic in the blank. The cooling may be allowed to occur in the ambient air, or by circulating a cooling medium through the platens, or by conduction through cooled platens, or in some cases by a liquid coolant spray, or by a combination of such procedures.

The mold plates may be readily disengagable from the rest of the press so as to allow another set of mold plates to be inserted and used in the press with another blank of thermoformable material while a previously used set of mold plates having an expanded blank therebetween is allowed to cool. The mold plate should also be disengagable from'the rest of the press where the nature of the fusible blank and of the mold plate is such that the cooled expanded blank remains bonded to one or both of the mold plates. In the latter case laminates may be readily formed with one or both of the disengagable mold plates as skin laminae and the expanded blank as a core lamina. When such laminates are desired, similar or dissimilar mold plates can be used so as to provide laminates with similar or dissimilar skin laminae, or even laminates wherein only one of the removable mold plates remains bonded to the cooled expanded blank. 1

FIG. 5 shows a cooled laminate structure 5 produced as described above with respect to FIGS. 1-4. The expanded and cooled plastic 2' remains bonded to plates 7 la and 1b forming a rigid composite structural member 5. Rib members 2'a tend to have an I-beam configuration that has flanged members 2'b at the areas of contact with plates la and lb. Expanded laminate structure 5 may be used as a relatively lightweight structural member as is, also the expanded core member 2' itself can be used as a structural member without the employment of metal plates la and lb therewith.

For aesthetic, or other purposes, it may be desired to expand the cross-section of the blank in a non-uniform manner so as to provide expanded blanks which have cross-sectional areas of various degrees of thickness.

FIG. 6 shows another type of removable mold plate 6 which may be used in the device of the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows an expanded blank 8 which may be prepared with mold plate 6. Mold plate 6 as shown in FIG. 6, is a sheet of metal which has a pattern of holes punched therein, leaving a pattern of ridge members 7 in the surface of said platen. With the holes cut through mold plate 6, either side of the mold plate may be used for contacting the fused plastic blank in the device of the present invention.

In the preparation of the expanded blank 8 shown in FIG. 7, one removable mold plate 6 was used in a Carver press, in place of upper mold plate 1, as shown in FIG. 2. The mold plate 6 was mechanically affixed to upper platen 3a of the press. The flat surface of lower platen 3b of the press then served as the lower mold plate in this modification of the device of the present invention. In preparing expanded blank 8, upper mold plate 6 is contacted with fused blank 2 so as to cause the fused blank to wet, and adhere to by hot tack adhesion, the surfaces of ridge members 7 of the mold plate 6, and the flat surface of the lower platen 312. When the platens 3a and 3b of the press are then opened during the expansion step, the lower contact face of the blank remains adhered to the continuous face of lower platen 3b, while the blank is expanded through adherence to mold plate 6 at points of contact with ridge members 7. During the expansion step, voids are created in the expanding blank adjacent the holes in'the surface of mold plate 6. These voids result in the formation of recessed areas or cells 9 in the expanded blank 8 and are bounded by expanded rib members 10 of the expanded blank. The cells 9 are vented, during the expansion step, through the holes in the surface of mold plate 6 and between the surface of platen 3a and mold plate 6 so as to maintain the uniformity and integrity of the resulting cross-sectional geometry of the resulting expanded blank. Upon being cooled below its heat distortion point, the expanded blank 8' may be removed from the press and mold plate 6. Expanded blank 8, thus has a flat side I l and an expanded side 12. The expanded ridge members 10 of expanded blank 8 form a mirror image of ridge members 7 in the surface of mold plate 6. As shown in FIG. 8, each of these expanded ridge members 10 tends to have an I beam configuration. This I beam configuration is common for most, if not all, of the expanded rib members which are found in all of the modifications of the expanded articles made with the device of the present invention.

In the preparation of expanded article 8 shown in FIGS. 7 to 8, ridge members 10 of expanded article 8 were expanded only a relatively short distance, so as to provide a type of embossed surface on the upper surface 12 of expanded blank 8. This embossing is not a true embossing, since the top surfaces of ridge members 10, as shown in FIG. 8, are undercut due to the I beam configuration of ridge members 10. This embossing effect can be used for decorative purposes on sheets of plastic intended for ornamental purposes or as a means of mechanically bonding or locking thereto other substrates or materials such as cement mortar, gypsum plaster or insulating bituminous cork mastic by means of the undercut features of the flanged tops of ridge members l0.

Ridge members 10 of expanded blank 8 can be further extended by pulling the mold plates further apart. The height to which ridge members 10 can be extended depends on several factors. Generally speaking, the height of ridge members 10 can be extended by increasing the surface area of the top surfaces of ridge 

1. A device for expanding the cross section of thermoformable material which comprises a base mold plate and a top mold plate, each of said plates having a surface for contacting said thermoformable material when said thermoformable material is inserted between said plates, said surfaces having a fusion point of > OR = 70*C. and being adapted to bond, in a nonmolten state, to thermoformable material by hot tack adhesion when said thermoformable material has a hot tack adhesion temperature which is less than the fusion point of said surfaces, at least one of said mold plates being adapted to vent air through a portion thereof during the expanding of said thermoformable material between said plates by pulling said plates apart while said thermoformable material is bonded thereto by hot tack adhesion, means to heat said plates to the hot tack adhesion temperature of said thermoformable material, and means to pull said plates apart while said thermoformable material is bonded thereto.
 2. A device as in claim 1 in which at least one of said mold plates has channel means in the thermoplastic material contact surface thereof.
 3. A device as in claim 2 in which said channel means is in the form of a grid of recessed channels.
 4. A device as in claim 1 in which at least one oF said mold plates is perforated with a plurality of perforations.
 5. A device as in claim 4 in which said perforations are arranged in an ordered pattern.
 6. A device as in claim 5 in which said perforations are angular.
 7. A device as in claim 6 in which said perforations are hexagonal.
 8. A device as in claim 6 in which said perforations are diamond shaped.
 9. A device as in claim 5 in which said perforations are arcuate.
 10. A device as in claim 9 in which said perforations are circular.
 11. A device as in claim 4 in which both of said mold plates are perforated.
 12. A device as in claim 11 in which the perforations in each mold plate are the same.
 13. A device as in claim 11 in which the perforations in each mold plate are dissimilar.
 14. A device as in claim 12 in which the perforations in the two mold plates are not aligned.
 15. A device as in claim 13 in which the perforations in the two mold plates are not aligned.
 16. A device as in claim 1 in which at least one of said mold plates is porous.
 17. A device as in claim 1 in which the contact surfaces of said mold plates are positioned in a vertical plane with respect to each other.
 18. A device as in claim 18 in which said means to pull said plates apart is adapted to pull said plates apart in a vertical plane.
 19. A device as in claim 1 in which the contact surfaces of said mold plates are positioned in a horizontal plane with respect to each other.
 20. A device as in claim 19 in which said means to pull said plates apart is adapted to pull said plates apart in a horizontal plane. 